why don't the TV networks have an internet streaming channel?
 

seriously.

i realize it must be about money/contracts. i get that.

but....

money:

include the commercials. they are interrupting the programming anyway.

there must be several households out there like my own: no functional television, its all about downloading (okay, not so many, i am a freak).

again, include commercials. the network gets the money.

contracts:

i have no idea. yeah, i am sure the local TV stations will be pissed. how much impact could it have?

i just want to watch football.

I'd pay a small fee to watch like 3 channels on my computer, and I know my dad would too if he could get a decent connection....

That is the rub, the small fee. Cable TV basic here locally is pretty cheap, but you get the broadcast channels and the useless shopping networks and holly roller networks. To get a good broadcast you have to have a package deal. There is usually just one or two channels of good for every "watch paint dry" or "watch the grass grow" channel. It is all about money. The commercials just help offset the cost. The cheap option is the off button.

Please keep in mind that the TV networks own very little of of the content that they distribute; most of it is licensed which limits their options to distribute and as was suggested, there are turf wars and advertising revenues at stake.

To state the obvious, this is a very convoluted matter having to do with the distribution rights which the rights owners have carved into very specific distribution channels (and which are further convoluted by the factors of time and geography), and there is also the matter of costs associated with real-time encoding and delivery...all in all, situational solutions may get (and have been) sorted out but a comprehensive one is not going to happen soon...and maybe not for a very very long time.

i think it will be sooner

the net will kill cable tv and sat too

and why should I pay for channels I never watch or want
lots of shows are on the net now with more to come soon

Have you thought about using an antenna and a digital converter box? Another alternative is to get a TV tuner card for your computer.

i've thought about it. the converter box is about $50. a decent antenna is about $40. then there is the added problem that the TV lives in the basement. i won't have a TV in the front room. so, reception is a problem. so, it will cost me about $100 and may not work.

i may just call the cable company and see how much BASIC cable costs. i don't want anything more than the local channels, really. my ONLY goal is to watch football this season.

i have joined a fantasy football league, so i am strangely into seeing what is happening. i rarely even watch the superbowl, but this season i've already watched two games. start to finish.

with some fairly minor searching, i found web pages like this one:

Seeon.tv

for example:

Search Result - Seeon.tv

i wonder how they get away with it....

If you use the tuner card in your computer you can set it up to record, assuming you have space on your hard drive.

And this is why it won't be so simple before long. Internet access will become metered just like electric or gas or any other utility. Pay by the gigabyte. Dish and cable will start advertising cheaper-than-internet un-metered packages. It has begun, as anyone who has rural point-to-point Internet or Comcast customer with Netflix already knows. This is the future.

I watch ALMS on the computer so that's halfway there I guess.

oh, i have the space.... hard drive space is ridiculously cheap. i have nearly 2TB of disk space, at the moment. i'll probably be expanding in the near future.

lee, i decided to look at tuner cards (i've had them in the past). i am glad i did. there are USB TV tuners! and cheap. i bought one for $51 shipped. it'll work with digital signal or cable analog. problem solved.

thanks for the tip.

Cool! Hope it works out.

I thought about getting a card for my computer, but rarely watch network TV. If I do, it's one of a few comedies my wife and I watch together so we record those on our DVR. I'd be interested in hearing about your experience setting it up, especially if you schedule/record shows.

Hulu has someof the channels but not all the programming. We watch so little TV it isn't worth the $200 it takes for the antenna and boosters we need for our area.

Newegg.com - Hauppauge PCTV HD Stick 801e SE 23049 USB 2.0 Interface

i would get a card, but there is limited space in my machine due to having two full size video cards. :)

it should be here tomorrow. i'll post with results.